The UNESCO Director-General urged the Russian authorities to do their utmost to bring his killers to justice.

This was contained in a press statement issued by UNESCO and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday.

Kazbek Gekkiyev, a television news presenter for the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK), was shot dead on December 5, as he returned home from work with a friend in Nalchik, capital of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

“The murder of Kazbek Gekkiyev must not go unpunished; I am encouraged by the rapid reaction of the Russian authorities, who pledged immediately that the crime would be investigated. Bringing the perpetrators to justice will send a clear sign to those who commit such acts that attempting to silence the media is not an option.

“The rights to freedom of expression, and the right of journalists to carry out their professional duties without fearing for their lives, are fundamental conditions for everyone to live in informed and peaceful societies,” the statement said.

It said that Kazbek Gekkiyev worked as a news anchor covering social issues for the regional branch of VGTRK.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that he was shot in the head by two gunmen, who had first checked his identity while his friend was left unharmed.

The CPJ said a number of VGTRK journalists have quit their jobs over the past year after receiving threats against their lives.

Kazbek Gekkiyev is remembered on the dedicated UNESCO Condemns the Killing of Journalists site.

UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Organisation requires “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations”.